Fire insurance benefits - how to get them

Payments of the insurance company in case of fire - how to get them

According to statistics, in Russia only for In 2019, the total number of fires occurred in the amount of 471,071, and direct damage from them amounted to 13,601,000,000 rubles.

The fire killed about 8607 people, including 405 children, and 9474 people were injured. Compared to statistics for 2018, there was an increase in the number of fires by 258%.

At the same time, the resulting fires died by 7. 6% and the number of injured people decreased by 1.

7%. There was a decrease in the death of children in a fire by 8%.

How to compensate for damage after a fire

Most often, fires occur in residential buildings, as well as premises. One of the main reasons for the appearance of a fire, according to the Ministry of Emergencies, is the carelessness of fire handling. Fires give people so many problems that are associated with the loss of property, documents and money.

Only payments will help here, his house burned down. Let's see how to get them.

In general, there are several options to compensate for damage - here the state, the guilty person or the insurance company can help.

Compensation from the state

After a large fire, for example, in the same apartment building, when several residential apartments were burnt out, the state can provide backup housing to the fire victims, as well as compensation. If the housing is to be restored, then the apartment will be repaired at the expense of budget funds.

If during the fire the damage was of medium scale, and the housing was found suitable for further living, then one can only count on material compensation. With all questions about compensation and documents, you should first of all contact the district administration.

Consider the conditions for receiving funds after a fire has occurred:

• Fire should have been spontaneous, and by no means intentional.
• The building must be owned by the affected persons.
• The damaged room should be the only living space for the person and his family.

The following documents will be required to process payments:

• Passport.
• Application.
• Documents that prove ownership and ownership of the property.
• Act of the fire service on the cause of the fire and the process of extinguishing.
• Conclusion from the investigating authorities about the causes of the fire.

• Certificate from the BTI (bureau of technical inventory) that there is no other housing.
• Certificate of housing cadastral registration.
• Bank details.

Let's consider another way to receive a payment.

Compensation from the guilty person

The person from whose territory the fire began to spread will bear responsibility for indirect harm.

For example, if your apartment caught fire due to the fact that a fire started at neighbors due to careless actions with fire, then he will be considered guilty and he will have a duty to you to compensate for the damage caused by the fire. At the same time, the fault of the neighbor must be proven by special investigative bodies.

To receive compensation from the perpetrator of the fire, you should first send the following documents to his address:

• Act on the occurrence of a fire and its causes.
• A copy of the act from operating organizations on the compliance of the premises with the required fire safety standards.
• A pre-trial claim, which is written (printed) in free form in the name of the person guilty of the fire, with a request for damages in pre-trial orders.

• Checks for expenses related to fire.
• A copy of the assessment report, if any.

Getting compensation from the culprit is a very difficult and lengthy process, because the person himself will be in a difficult situation and he is unlikely to have the money to compensate third parties.

Compensation from insurance companies

The most realistic way to get funds is to pay the insurance company in the event of a fire, and compensation in the event of a fire from the insurance company will be paid provided:

1. The apartment was previously insured against fire.
2. Fire is recognized as an insured event.

In order to receive compensation for damage caused by the fire, the injured person must contact his insurance company. It is the insurer, that is, the employee, who will assess the amount of damage, and will also see if this case applies to insurance. For this, experts must examine the premises and draw up their opinion, and if the case is recognized as insured, the victim will receive compensation.

It is possible to receive payments for compensation for damage caused by fire in the following circumstances:

• The insured property was damaged by fire, high temperatures and combustion products.
• The property was damaged while extinguishing the fire.

The risk of fire will not be an insured event if:

• Damage resulting from the heat treatment of the property that is insured.
• Damage caused to the insured equipment, machinery, devices connected to the electrical network, as a result of a short circuit, as well as overloads of the electrical network.

In most companies, the last paragraph is recognized as an insured event, details must be clarified when concluding an insurance contract.

Procedure for the occurrence of insured events

What to do

So, you need to do the following:

1. In the event of a fire, immediately report the incident to the Fire Department 112 and management companies.
2. Wherever possible, all measures should be taken to prevent the spread of fire.

3. Call your insurance company as soon as possible.
4. No later than three days, when it becomes known about the fire, notify the insurer in writing about the incident.

The written notice must contain the following information:

• The number of the insurance policy.
• The address where the fire occurred.
• Date and time of fire.

• Describe all your actions in the event of a fire.
• Information and the reason, nature and circumstances of the damage.
• Write down the amount of the alleged damage.

Next, you must give the employee of the insurance company access in order to inspect the premises.

List of documents for obtaining compensation

Next, we will consider how to calculate insurance payments for a fire, but first you will find out what documents the insured must provide in order to receive payment caused by fire.

1. Insurance contract, as well as a receipt for its payment.
2. Application for payment of compensation from the insurance company.
3. Checks that confirm the fact of purchase, as well as the value of the insured property for an insured event (if any).
4. Documents that confirm the ownership of housing (we are talking about a certificate of ownership, a contract of sale, or lease, etc.).

5. A list of lost or damaged property, with a full indication of ownership.
6. Documents issued by the competent authorities.

Let's consider what documents are issued after the fire (and most importantly - who issues them).

Who and what documents are issued after the fire

To fully understand the algorithm of actions after the fire has occurred, where and which ones take documents / certificates, consider further the scheme of the investigation of the fire:

1. Firemen come and put out the fire. The head of the fire guard must draw up a fire report.

2. The interrogator of the state fire supervision (and specialists of the fire testing laboratory) arrives.
3. Next, the interrogator must inspect the fire site.
4. Evidence is being seized.
5. A survey of victims and witnesses is being conducted.
6. Experts from the fire-type testing laboratory take pictures of the fire site and conduct field types of research.

7. Next, you need to sign the inspection report, and after that the investigator must make a decision - to initiate a criminal case, after it is transferred to the investigating authorities in the regional department of internal affairs, and then transferred to the investigating authorities at the prosecutor's office. Further, the case is being investigated by the state fire control department itself.
8. There is another variant of the development of events - you will be denied to initiate a criminal case, and the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case is transferred to those who suffered the fire along with the act that the fire was fixed.

After such actions, the injured party must have on hand the following documents:

• Act of fire.
• Resolution on refusal to initiate criminal cases.

• Own documents and materials - photos of the consequences of the fire (if any), receipts that confirm the purchase of certain items (also if available).

As a rule, actions that are aimed at checking after a fire take three days, but it can be extended up to 10 days. In special cases, if someone died in a fire, it can take a month to check. If the authorities have refused to issue certain documents that are requested by the insurance company, the policyholder must send a copy of the request and a written response to it to the insurer.

How much money can be received for insurance and how to calculate the required amount

The amount of insurance will be established by concluding an insurance contract.

The amount of damage will be determined after the premises have been inspected and an analysis of the documents that confirm the amount of damage caused by the fire is carried out. The amount of compensation from the insurance company cannot be more than the amount of damage caused, and also cannot be more than the insured amounts established under the contract.

Insurance payments after a fire are paid:

• In case of complete loss of property in the amount of the cost of restoration the insured property as of the date of the insured event.
• In case of damage to property in the amount of expenses of the restoration type, but not more than the sum insured.

If at the time of the conclusion of the contract the property was insured less than the real value, then the payments will be proportional.

For example, if all household appliances during insurance, in order to save on the price of the policy, you estimated at 10,000 rubles, then you will receive only 10,000 rubles upon reimbursement. If you estimated the finishing in the house at half the cost less than the real price, for example, not by 500,000 rubles, but only by 250,000 rubles, then in fact you will also get proportional compensation. In case of damage to the premises, where the real cost of restoration work will be 500,000 rubles, the payment will be only 250,000 rubles.

Conclusion

So, we can draw the following conclusions:

1. After the fire, the injured party will have the right to receive compensation from the state, the insurance company or a guilty person.
2. In order to receive compensation, a number of rules must be followed.

3. For each of the methods of obtaining compensation, it is required to provide an act on the cause of fire, which is drawn up by a fire-fighting service.

The most complete and reliable protection against the consequences of a fire will be insurance for your own home and civil liability.